Three city council members tried to delay the rezoning of more land for light industrial east of Interstate 65, but the proposal passed 4-3.
The Franklin City Council voted twice on Monday — on whether to rezone the property and whether to annex it.
The property, currently farmland, is located on two parcels north and south of State Road 44, on the east side of County Road 600 East. All of the land west of the property to I-65 is already annexed into the city and has been rezoned for light industrial use.
With this annexation, the city is at the outer limit of the eastside buffer zone that has been eyed for future growth since 1972. The area has been in the county’s jurisdiction but the buffer zone gave Franklin more control over its future.
The Franklin City Council on Monday OK’d the annexation with a unanimous vote, as all city council members agreed the property should join the city per the owner’s request.
The council was divided on the rezone, though. Council members Bob Heuchan, Anne McGuinness and Chris Rynerson voted no.
The rezone expands the area that is zoned for light industrial east of I-65 in Franklin, and is next to the planned 482-acre industrial park from Florida-based Sunbeam Development Corp., and a 1 million-square-foot building to be built this year by GDI Construction of Indianapolis.
The new development is proposed by Harry “Mac” McNaught of Dennison Properties, who developed Franklin Tech Park, which includes Energizer, Interstate Warehousing and Aisin. McNaught recently received approval to double the size of the Aisin facility. That work is now underway.
McNaught did not offer a lot of details about his plans for the property, but said it would be more of the same type of development that is already happening in the area. Goals for the project are to build high-quality industrial buildings and attract light industrial, ecommerce or warehousing businesses, he said.
Until there is enough interest in the site to start building, the property will continue to be farmed. There is no business under contract right now, McNaught said.
Before council members voted Monday, several Johnson County residents shared their opposition to the project at the council’s May 3 meeting.
Residents were concerned their quality of life would deteriorate with noise, light pollution and traffic from an industrial development. They were already concerned about growth that is already approved, so they asked the council to consider holding off on this development until other buildings are completed and occupied, to see how that goes.
Jobs in Franklin and elsewhere in Johnson County are already going unfilled, they said. With no industry type or pay rate planned for the property, they questioned whether the workers would be able to afford to live in Franklin.
Most of all, they were concerned that all they could do was plead their case at the meeting. As county residents, they don’t have the right to vote for Franklin officials who are making decisions that impact their lives.
The vote for the annexation was close, and each council member made the decision they thought was best for Franklin. Three council members shared their thoughts during the meeting.
What has made Franklin strong financially is its diversity of businesses and the measured way it has grown, said Heuchan, a retired banker.
Rezoning now would limit the possibilities for the land and add to industrial saturation in the area, he said.
“We want to make sure that the type of growth we have is the type we want to have and we don’t bite off more than we can chew,” Heuchan said. “I’ve received a lot of correspondence … and the thing that stood out to me most … is just a question: ‘Couldn’t we just pump the brakes?’”
Council member Ken Austin said he is in favor of the development as long as an adequate buffer is put in place for nearby residents.
Council member Lisa Jones said her primary concern is making sure the city will benefit from future development on the property, whatever that turns out to be.
After the meeting, McGuinness and Rynerson said they considered input from county residents and share their concerns that the rezone is too much too fast.
“Mainly it is because of the citizens out there. I get it. I see what is going on out there and I think it needs to be the right kind of growth,” McGuinness said. “Eventually it might be industrial growth, but I think we need to look at it a little longer before we jump that gun.”
Rynerson thought a lot about the decision and ultimately came to the conclusion that waiting on the development is the best option, he said.
“In a perfect world, I would like to see how that develops before we extend it east. But it is a timing thing and it was a tough decision,” Rynerson said.
More than a dozen county residents turned out to see the vote but couldn’t speak on it again because it was not a public hearing. One county resident requested to speak after the vote was tallied with permission from Mayor Steve Barnett.
“Since you annexed this property does that mean I get to vote for you now?” Mark Armstrong asked rhetorically.
After the meeting, Armstrong, whose property along State Road 44 will back up to the development, was disappointed more council members didn’t vote to pause the rezone.
